Law 3840 Criminal Law and Procedure
How to find an assigned U.S. Supreme Court Case by
citation:
I.
Obtain the citation to the case from the
syllabus or other source. The citation will
consist of the name(s) of the plaintiff and
defendant e.g. Brandenburg v Ohio; the
citation to the official reporter e.g. 395 U.S.
444; a citation to one or more additional
commercial reporters e. g. 89 S. Ct. 1827; and
the date the opinion was released e. g. (1969).
II. Open the University homepage and select the
link to “Libraries”.
III. Open the link to “Databases A-Z”.
IV. Select the “W” Database and open it.
V. Scroll down to the Database “Westlaw
Campus Research” and open it.
VI. Under “Shortcuts” on left side of page, go to
“Find” and insert the official citation e.g. 395
U.S. 444 into the block below “Find a
Document by citation and click on the “Go”
button.
VII. Scroll through the head notes to the opinion of
the Court, which will begin with “per curiam”
(which means a unanimous opinion with no
identified author) or “Mr. Justice/Chief Justice
_______ delivered the opinion of the Court”
VIII. Read the opinion and dissent.
How to find landmark cases (e.g. Marbury v.
Madison):
1. Follow Steps II through V above.
2. Under “shortcuts” select “find a document by title”
and insert the case name and click on the “go” button.
3. Follow Steps VII and VIII.